If you’ve read some of my earlier reviews (like my horror movie top ten list or my Zombie movie list) then you may know that I’m huge fan of horror and gore and the ridiculous. This usually leads me to titles like the ones you’ll find on those lists, a variety of films from all different countries, all falling under the category of Horror. Gore, blood, violence, death and mayhem. I love it.
Of course, on my search for more gore, on my quest to find that perfect fountain of blood, I’ve unfortunately encountered films that are little too much even for me. For example, I do not like the rape/revenge sub-genre. While I can enjoy something like Takashi Miike’s Ichi the Killer or Visitor Q, I’m completely turned off by Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left.
Which leads me to director Gaira. My first encounter with him came about in a little video store in Atlanta, GA. A friend and I were perusing the foreign horror section, this store had an absurdly impressive selection, and we came across this bizarre looking VHS titled Entrails of a Virgin. Well. Knowing absolutely nothing about Gaira (yes, he goes by one name. His full name is something like Kazuo Komizu) my friend and I decided that Entrails of a Virgin combined with a bottle of Riesling were just what the evening needed.
Not so much. We ended up hitting the fast forward button a lot…
So Entrails of a Virgin was a bit of a bust for us. There were some all right parts but mostly, a little too much with the soft-core porn for our tastes.
Why then did I decide to add Entrails of a Beautiful Woman to my Netflix queue? I have no idea. I guess I never learn.
Entrails of a Beautiful Woman is a sort of sequel to Entrails of a Virgin. There are actually three movies in the series; I believe the third is called Naked Blood (that one I WON’T be watching). The plot doesn’t really follow the plot of the first movie at all. Really they have nothing to do with each other beyond the titles. And the director. And weird monsters who like to do horrible, perverse things to people. And have really disturbing bits of anatomy.
Beautiful Woman begins in a factory where a Yakuza gang is holding a young girl captive. After being gang raped and drugged up, the girl escapes and finds her way to a female doctor. The girl tells the doctor who has attacked her and then swan dives off of the roof. The doctor tracks down the Yakuza members, there’s a bit of revenge, more rape, drugs, and then… a giant gooey monster? And possibly the most disturbing Alien reference I’ve ever seen.
Beautiful Woman is advertised as being about this monster. It’s not really. The monster shows up maybe fifteen minutes before the end of the movie. Up until that happens Beautiful Woman actually does have a real plot. That plot just happens to be an excuse to make a soft-core snuff film.
Why did I forget to hit the fast forward button??
There’s really nothing redeeming about Entrails of a Beautiful Woman. If you like this particular sub-genre you might want to check it out. Or if you’re hugely curious about the gooey entrails monster. Did I mention the monster is also a transforming transvestite? Don’t ask me how that one comes about. It’s really silly.
Beyond that though. I don’t even recommend watching it for the sake of completion. Mostly it’s just long and boring with a mediocre plot and soft-core sex. I know, talking about sex is probably just going to encourage a lot people. Geez, just download some porn. You don’t need to watch this movie.
There’s not even a point in talking about the direction or acting or anything else. That’s not what this movie is about. It’s about putting beautiful women in demeaning situations designed to excite the audience and then throwing in a few gross out moments to make people go “Ew.”
I just have to note here, that when I say go “Ew,” what I mean is this: it had me squeeing rather loudly. Saying things like “Holy S***”, “What the F*…”, “They are not…”, “EEEEEEEWWW”. My roommate and her boyfriend, who were in the other room with the door closed, were very amused.
Those “Ew” moments are effective, I’m forced to admit, but not worth the time it takes to get to them. So if you’re really curious and I can’t discourage you, hit it up on Netflix and keep your remote in hand. I recommend the x8 button at least.
The DVD actually does include an interview with Gaira, which was interesting for about five minutes before I got really bored by his self-congratulatory pretentious monologue. That had nothing to with Entrails of a Beautiful Woman.
At least at that point I had the presence of mind to hit stop.
Bijo no harawata
Entrails of a Beautiful Woman
1986
68 min
Japanese with English Subtitles
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